For a little while Friday night, it almost looked like the breaks were going to favor the Warriors. Nathan Gibbs picked off a Princeton pass in the first period to give Bonham the ball at the Panthers' 30-yard line.
Unfortunately, Princeton's Taylor Kyles grabbed an errant throw by the Warriors six plays later and took it 75 yards for a touchdown. Although Bonham evened the score with a T.J. Washington quarterback sneak in the third quarter, the Panthers tacked on two TDs in the fourth period to down the Warriors 20-6. Princeton is now 1-1 in district and Bonham falls to 2-0.
After the quick touchdown by Princeton, Bonham went to work on the ground. Robert Williams finished with 110 yards rushing and Bonham put the ball in Williams' hands on six out of their first seven plays, but Princeton held the speedy ball carrier to 31 yards in the first quarter. Will Moss smothered a couple of Princeton sweeps, two nice punts by Wade Hayes pinned Princeton inside their own 10-yard line twice and the Bonham defense held the Panthers in check for the remainder of the first half.
T.J. Washington tied the game on a quarterback sneak in the third period and both teams went into the fourth period with only six points on the scoreboard. That changed quickly, though.
Princeton took to lead on a short run with 9:46 left in the game and the Panthers put it away when Justin Taylor grabbed a short pass, bounced off a Warrior and raced 46 yards to give Princeton a 20-6 victory.
Next week Bonham will host longtime rival Commerce in another District 10-3A match.
